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This game is a totally new concept. Never before have I seen a game like it.

The idea of Ballistix is to score three goals before either the computer or another player can do so. You manoeuvre an arrow around the screen firing small missiles at a larger red ball in order to force it into the opponent's goal.

You are able to change the keys that are used in the game and the preset ones are not all that good. I found that if I was going to play the One Player game then it was best to define Player One's keys as the usual ZX*? and RETURN combination.

On starting to play you are greeted by a hand pushing the main red ball onto the playing area and you begin to fire your small missiles at it. The ball begins to fly around the screen very erratically and, if you are lucky, it may just pop straight into the opponent's goal but, nine times out of ten, it falls into your own goal if you are not very careful. Your arrow can be moved around the screen in any direction, but the computer automatically faces it in the direction of the red ball which can be a great help.

As I had an early preview version, I did not have full instructions as to what many of the objects did so a lot of my time was spent experimenting. I found that on later levels there are black holes which the red ball disappears into, only to reappear elsewhere. Also, there are arrows which attract the red ball in the direction that they are pointing in. Other objects are a help whilst many are more of a nuisance to you but I have yet to discover their full use!

If you choose to play the Two Player game, the objective is to win more of the thirty levels and gain a higher score than your opponent. This time you each have a moveable arrow on the screen at the same time, and between you, you battle it out to score three goals. I found that Player Two has a slight advantage over Player One in that the red ball is subject to gravity so if the ball is left it will fall into Player One's goal! Player Two will then be awarded points depending on how "good" the shot was!

Overall, Ballistix is a totally different game to any other that I have played and Superior would do well to bring out more like it in the future.

Brett Colley